Events

London-based historian Tobias Stone sees the same parallels I see to periodic bouts of self-destruction. Le sigh: [W]e humans have a habit of going into phases of mass destruction, generally self imposed to some extent or another. At a local level in time people think things are fine, then things rapidly spiral out of control until they become unstoppable, and we wreak massive destruction on ourselves. For the people living in the midst of this it is hard to see happening and hard to understand. To...

Brian Beutler argues that Hillary Clinton needs to put the "lock her up" crap to rest: It’s a problem to have this stench lingering in the air, but just as difficult to address without playing into the hands of her opponents, who’d love nothing more than to turn “lock her up” into a matter of partisan debate. (“Should Clinton be jailed? Some say yes, some say no!”) But a deft communicator could discredit “lock her up” not by protesting too much on Clinton’s behalf, but by treating it as the unhinged...

Ah, I can finally take a few minutes to read through my backlog of articles, which have a common theme coming off this past week's events: Josh Marshall says, yes, Trump & Putin is really a thing. James Fallows has 4 Trump Time Capsule posts I haven't read yet. New Republic says the GOP have made a world-historical mistake, Trump is on fire (and not in a good way), and we shouldn't be shocked by anything he says or does from now on. Mother Jones' David Corn says this was the most dangerous...

Still here. Just phenomenally busy the last few days. I'll at least post a link round-up tomorrow morning.

A high-pressure dome of hot, humid air is parked over the middle of the U.S. right now, driving temperatures up and heat indices up higher. But here in downtown Chicago, something weird happened this afternoon. Around 1pm, a line of thunderstorms came down Lake Michigan from the north. Just before then, it was 33°C at O'Hare with a heat index close to 38°C. Then, within fifteen minutes, this happened: Note the green lin snaking from Gary, Ind., in the southeast around to Crystal Lake, Ill., in the...

Last night at the Republican National Convention, Ted Cruz took a huge risk when he essentially told people not to vote for the nominee: The Republican convention erupted into tumult on Wednesday night as the bitter primary battle between Donald J. Trump and Senator Ted Cruz reignited unexpectedly, crushing hopes that the party could project unity. In the most electric moment of the convention, boos and jeers broke out as it became clear that Mr. Cruz — in a prime-time address from center stage — was...

Much of the central U.S. is bracing for the worst heat wave since 2013: Temperatures [in Chicago] Thursday are expected to reach 34°C and 37°C on Friday, with humidity levels creating a heat index that feels more like 38-42°C, according to Kevin Donofrio, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The heat wave will continue through the weekend, with temperatures only a few digits lower during the day Saturday and Sunday and remaining around 25°C and even 28-29°C overnight, Donofrio said....